Russian Church to help Syria return to peaceful life - Patriarch Kirill

Moscow, September 19, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church will continue helping rebuild the foundations of peaceful life in Syria, Patriarch Kirill said in Moscow at a meeting with the country's mufti, Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun.

"We are ready to continue assisting in every way in the process of reconciling various representatives of Syrian society. And it is very important for this process to involve the clergy and the pious, both Muslim and Orthodox [Christians]," Patriarch Kirill said.

The Russian Church and Russia's Muslim community are actively involved in providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, which they see as "their fraternal duty," he said.

Terrorists often use religious arguments to justify their unlawful actions, the patriarch said.

"This distorts the fundamental principles of the Islamic religion. Which is why they must be countered, at the level of thought, at the level of conviction, with the healthy forces representing Islam. And, of course, this should also involve Christians, who form a large community in Syria," he said.

Patriarch Kirill hopes that the remnants of terrorist groups in Syria "will be suppressed and peace and justice will return to the Syrian land."

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